During Mutual Courtesy And Feastings, Sometimes Five Or Six And Twenty
Of The Principal Persons Among Them Came Aboard My Ship, Of Whom I Would
Never Allow More Than Six To Have Weapons; But There Never Was So Many
Of Our Men On Board Their Junk At One Time.
I wished Captain John Davis,
in the morning, to possess himself of their weapons, putting the company
before the
Mast, and to leave a guard over their weapons, while they
searched among the rice; doubting that by searching, and perhaps finding
something that might displease them, they might suddenly set upon my men
and put them to the sword, as actually happened in the sequel. But,
beguiled by their pretended humility, Captain Davis would not take
possession of their weapons, though I sent two messages to him from my
ship, expressly to desire him. During the whole day my men were
searching among the rice, and the Japanese looking on. After a long
search, nothing was found except a little storax and benzoin. At
sun-set, seeking opportunity, and talking to their comrades who were in
my ship, which was very near, they agreed to set upon us in both ships
at once, on a concerted signal. This being given, they suddenly killed
and drove overboard all of my men that were in their ship. At the same
time, those who were on board my ship sallied out of my cabin, with such
weapons as they could find, meeting with some targets there, and other
things which they used as weapons. Being then aloft on the deck, and
seeing what was likely to follow, I leapt into the waste, where, with
the boatswains, carpenter, and some few more, we kept them under the
half-deck. At first coming from the cabin, they met Captain Davis coming
out of the gun-room, whom they pulled into the cabin, and giving him six
or seven mortal wounds, they pushed him before them out of the cabin. He
was so sore wounded, that he died immediately on getting to the waste.
They now pressed so fiercely upon us, while we received them on our
levelled pikes, that they attempted to gather them with one hand that
they might reach us with their swords, so that it was near half an hour
before we could force them back into the cabin, after having killed
three or four of their leaders. When we had driven them into the cabin,
they continued to fight us for at least four hours, before we could
finally suppress them, in which time they several times set the cabin on
fire, and burnt the bedding and other furniture; and if we had not
beaten down the bulkhead and poop, by means of two demi-culverines from
under the half-deck, we had never been able to prevent them from
burning the ship. Having loaded these pieces of ordnance with bar-shot,
case-shot, and musket-bullets, and discharged them close to the
bulk-head, they were so annoyed and torn with shot and splinters, that
at last only one was left out of two and twenty.
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